1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention is directed to a joint for connecting two sections of a tire, and more particularly, to a wedged overlapping hook joint for connecting together two tire sections of a rotary combustor tire.
2. Related Art.
Due to their large sizes, tires used for rotary combustors have posed difficulties in regard to storage and shipping. Rotary combustors having diameters of 400 cm or larger generally employ large tires which are manufactured in half sections and which are separated for shipping and storage. Prior to use, the half sections are connected together to form a large circular shaped tire. Previous joint designs for connecting the tire half sections have presented various problems. For example, such known designs have a high tendency to wear due to shear and tension effects and such known designs are difficult to manufacture and assemble.
Many known tire joint designs employ shoulder bolts. Shoulder bolts, however, tend to exhibit excessive wear under high tension conditions. Furthermore, shoulder bolts require precise machining of a shoulder pilot hole and a tapped hole at the bottom of the shoulder pilot hole. In order to accomplish the precise machining of the tapped hole at the bottom of the shoulder pilot hole, clearances are generally required to be made in the shoulder pilot hole. Such clearances preclude the ability to precisely align the shoulder bolt. Moreover, the shoulder bolt design provides a joint which is relatively difficult to disassemble and reassemble.